am ́ū̇-let (קמיע, ḳemīa‛, לחשׁים, leḥāshīm, מזוּזה, mezūzāh, תּפלּין, tephillīn, ציצת, cīcith; φυλακτήριον, phulaktḗrion): Modern scholars are of opinion that our English word amulet comes from the Latin amuletum, used by Pliny (Naturalis Historia, xxviii, 28; xxx, 2, etc.), and other Latin writers; but no etymology for the Latin word has been discovered. The present writer thinks the root exists in the Arabic himlat, “something carried” (see Dozy, Supplément aux Dictionnaires Arabes, I, 327), though there is no known example of the use of the Arabic word in a magical sense. Originally “amulet” denoted any object supposed to have the power of removing or warding noxious influences believed to be due to evil spirits, etc., such as the evil eye, etc. But in the common usage it stands for an object worn on the body, generally hung from the neck, as a remedy or preservative against evil influences of a mystic kind. The word “amulet” occurs once in the Revised Version (Isaiah 3:20) but not at all in the King James Version.
The substances out of which amulets have been made and the forms which they have taken have been various.
(1) The commonest have consisted of Amulets of pieces of stone or metal, strips of parchment with or without inscriptions from sacred writings (Bible, Koran, etc.). The earliest Egyptian amulets known are pieces of green schist of various shapes—animal, etc. These were placed on the breast of a deceased person in order to secure a safe passage to the under-world. When a piece of stone is selected as an amulet it is always portable and generally of some striking figure or shape (the human face, etc.). The use of such a stone for this purpose is really a survival of animism.
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Author: International Std. Bible Encyclopedia
Keywords: Amulet, charm, good luck, evil spirit, Mezuzah, phylacteries, phylactery, magic
Bible reference(s): Isa 3:20, Isaiah 3:18
Source: James Orr (editor), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 5 volume set.
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.